Category: By-elections

Bob Rae resigns, who will replace him in Toronto Centre?

Yesterday, Bob Rae resigned from the House of Commons, giving up his Toronto Centre seat. The seat has been a safe Liberal seat for quite some time and the Liberal nomination race to replace him will be a competitive one.

Here are some of the Liberal names that I’m hearing that may be running for the Liberal nomination:
– George Smitherman, former mayoral candidate and former Ontario cabinet minister
– Seamus O’Reagan, of CTV’s Canada AM (via the Globe and Mail), close friend of Justin Trudeau
– John Duffy, former Liberal strategist, current lobbyist

The NDP could give the Liberals a good run. They’ll likely put forward a viable candidate. Potential names include:
– Jennifer Hollett (via Xtra), former Much Music VJ and CBC journalist, presented at the NDP convention
– Cathy Crowe, former candidate in 2010 by-election
– Kristyn Wong-Tam, city councillor

Potential Conservative nomination contestants:
– Andrew Keyes, former candidate
– Kevin Moore, former candidate

Tony Genco’s Greatest Hits

Tony Genco is the Liberal by-election candidate in Vaughan. He’s facing off against high-profile Conservative candidate Julian Fantino.

Despite Genco’s relatively unknown profile, why would he not even mention himself (or his leader Michael Ignatieff) on his lit piece that he’s handing out at doors in the constituency? Is Genco relying more on the Liberal brand which is likely polling higher than the Ignatieff brand in Vaughan?

Also amusing are Genco’s tweets. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Go Leafs go…?

Canvassing with Ken Dryden tomorrow in #Vaughan. Join us. #NHL #MapleLeafs #Cdnpoli

[link]

Thanks to the 1200 people who came out and supported our kickoff rally last night in #Vaughan. Get involved at http://tonygenco.liberal.ca

[link]

Vaughan Today reports on Michael Ignatieff’s comments in Vaughan,

“You always know something big is happening when you’ve got a dozen MP’s and senators up here,” Ignatieff said. To cheers and music he told the audience of 250 “we must win Vaughan.”

1200 as an overestimate for 250? C’mon!